After Birthday: Crimson stained Desires
by Annabeth Zatsune
Summary: U CAN GIVE ME ALL THE CRAP U WANT, I DON'T CARE! Beyond Birthday's younger sister, After Birthday, is put into a mental institute after her brother's death. Later, L calls upon her for help in the Kira case. Still blaming him for Beyond's death and being taken from her, After refuses. L persists, and she eventually caves to his demands. Rated M for excessive swearing, R&R!
1. Prologue

I learned a few things the hard way.

One...

... That the day Beyond was taken to an orphanage for gifted children, I'd never see him again.

Two...

... That while I don't see things the way he did, I can't just blurt what I do see.

Three...

... I am not your average human... I can do things you can't.

Four...

... It's all L's fault.

Without L, they wouldn't have taken my brother. My brother wouldn't have been pushed beyond the limit. My brother would still be alive. It's all L's fault.

_... All L's fault..._

Five, I've already mentioned...

Beyond Birthday, my older brother, died of a heart attack in prison because of Kira. But L was the cause of all of it.

I am After Birthday. Our parents were killed in a car-crash. When it happened, Beyond had started to cry, and he told me his secret, that he could see names and death-dates above people's heads, that he hadn't known what they meant until that day. In return, I told my secret. I can see things. I can't control what I see, but I can see weak spots, strengths, muscle-movement, heart-rate, kind of food the person consumes the most... It's very random. I see different things every hour or so.

We were in an orphanage. Then it closed down, and all the kids had to transfer to different places.

Beyond was taken to a place called 'Wammy's House.' It was for gifted children.

I was sent to an ordinary orphanage.

I never got letters, calls, anything from my brother.

I missed him...

_Then it happened..._

_The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases!_

They weren't being called that at the time, but I was excited about it. My brother was alive, my brother was making his name, and he was close to me at the time!

But then it stopped.

**_Naomi Misora captures criminal behind Los Angeles BB Murder__ Case._**

**_Beyond Birthday, murderer of the Los Angeles BB Murder Case, dies of heart attack._**

I was upset. Upset enough to go on a rampage through the town I was currently in.

Fire, blood, car alarms...

When the police came, I went willingly. Well, not exactly willingly, just cooperatively.

I was sent to a mental institution for examination. I was generally in a straight-jacket when I was around others, but eventually my placid behavior convinced them to take it off...

However, when reporters and the such came over, I had to wear it. _For show. _I was fine with that.

It wasn't like I wanted to hurt people. But the way they flaunted his death...

Whenever a reporter talked shit about him, or praised L before me, I admit I got pissed. One time I actually bit some bitch who wouldn't shut up about how Beyond was 'demented and deranged,' how, oh, 'we are all better off with a psycho like him dead.'

She wasn't hurt that bad...

I think. I think it was just from shock of how much blood erupted from that one bite.

Afterwards I had to wear the straight-jacket again, along with a muzzle. Now they were a little picky about taking either off.

Soon the excitement about my brother and I wore down. I was let out of my confinements a little more often.

Then it happened...

... Not something good.

This something was very bad...


	2. A Quick Author's Note

**OKAY...!**

**I'm not gonna take any shit on this story! You want to say something, WELL YOU GO RIGHT ON AHEAD!**

**ANY BULL-SHITTERS WILL GET THEIR ASSES KICKED, HOWEVER!**

**I know this is totally crackish, and not all that following the story...**

**BUT TURN AROUND AND ASK ME IF I GIVE SHIT! NEED I REMIND YOU PEOPLE THIS IS A _FAN_-FICTION?!**

**Okay, I'm done yelling...**

**After Birthday was inspired through the song _Criminal._**

**__I listened to songs to set the mood for this story. I listened to the above stated song, only Nightcored. I also listened to...**

**_Calling All the Monsters_- Nightcore  
**

**_Prelude 12/21_- AFI**

**_Everybody's Fool_- Evanescence  
**

**_This is Halloween_- Marilyn Manson  
**

**_Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)_- tATu**

**_iNSaNiTY_- SF Miki ft. Kaito  
**

**The last one especially... I just think it suits Beyond Birthday, and therefore After Birthday.**

**After Birthday is just a protective little sister who's traumatized by the loss of her brother, so I don't want any 'After's a Mary-Sue' crap, okay? I worked hard to make her. She took me forever to create!**


	3. Chapter 1: He Won't Shut Up

"Uhh... Put my horsie guy on your pointy guy... And that's mate!" I smiled as I moved my piece.

"Uh, no it isn't. Not for me at least." my guard, Wilcox, smiled back at me, using his queen to take out my knight.

"Aww... That's eleven to one... Come on, After, we're counting on you to beat him!" sighed my other guard, Godson.

"Why can't we play poker? Or checkers? Something simple?" I mumbled, hanging my head so it bumped the bars of my cell.

"Because you always win thirty to none when we play those. It's my turn to pick a game." Wilcox smiled as Godson marked another win under his name.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Wilcox... Godson... After...?"

"Mmm?" we all asked, looking up at the timid newbie.

"There's someone wanting to speak to After..."

"I just got out of my 'jacket and now I have to get back into it?!" I whined.

"Not the muzzle?" teased Wilcox.

"That doesn't put my arms to sleep." I grumbled, standing up.

"Actually..."

"Eh?"

"Uh... It's... via webcam..."

I didn't like the sound of that... No one I knew really had the time to sit in front of a computer for fifteen minutes and stare at the person on the screen, not the money for one... Only one, and I didn't like them.

"I don't think I want to talk right now, I'm in the middle of a chess-match!" I laughed, putting my pieces back upright.

"Your rook is on the end, not next to the queen." Wilcox commented.

"Shut up!" I laughed.

"You better bring anything in, while she's still in an okay mood..." Godson sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm not any more." I growled, banging my head on the bars. "Wilcox, do you mind if I give this thing a kick nasty enough to lose a piece or two?"

"Let me get my pieces before you do!" he cried, sweeping the little marble figurines into a bag and folding up the board. The second he did that, I gave the table a boot that broke off a leg. "Niiice..."

"Yep. I'm happier now!" I smiled wickedly.

The young shaky guard brought in a second table and a computer. I hissed at the screen.

White. Snow white with an ebony-black character.

"Hello, After."

I hissed again. "Wilcox, you got a gun?"

"No way."

"Fine, Godson, gimme your tazer. It's not him, but I'm fine with tazin' the damn thing he's talkin' through!"

"Uh-uh."

I hissed at the computer again, barring my teeth. "Whaddya want, ya bastard?" I snarled.

"You've heard of the Kira-case."

I hissed, louder, longer, madder.

_Shitty bastard killed my brother..._

"I want your assistance on it."

I paused a moment. It was hard to tell through the synthetic voice thingy, but he sounded sincere...

"Nope."

Wilcox, Godson and the other guard were practically sweat-dropping at my refusal. Wilcox wasn't showing it on his face, but I could see it.

"Why not?"

I shot up, pointing an accusing finger at the lap-top. "You're the reason my brother is dead! Without you, he'd still be alive!" I shrieked. "It's all _YOUR_ fault! Why the fuck would I help the one who robbed me of everything?!"

I was breathing heavily in my fury. The guards' pulses were racing in shock and fear. Wilcox had seen me bite the woman who talked trash about Beyond. Godson had seen me rip a straight-jacket to shreds in fury. The other guard simply knew I was in an insane asylum. What can I say? I was pissed!

_Why would I help him?!_

"After, your brother almost beat me. If you're anything like him, I think you can help me."

Me?!

Like Beyond?!

"Nope. Wrong chick, dumb-ass. I'm not like BB. I'm not, quote-unquote, 'gifted.' I'm simply strong and smart. I don't have an IQ of four-hundred, just good eye-sight."

"So you'd still come in handy."

"Wilcox, does he have an off-button? This is annoying, and I'd rather any chess-game than this!"

"Sorry, After, no-can-do..." he apologized.

"Mmm..." I groaned.

"After, please."

I turned around, putting my hands over my ears. "La-la-la-la-la, can't hear you! La-la-la-la-la la LAAAAA!" I said in a loud sing-song voice.

_And yet he persisted..._

I couldn't hear him... Just the muffled synthetic voice.

_This guy just didn't know how to give up!_

"Shut up! I'm not listening!" I howled. "I don't give shit about you or what you want! Now shut up and leave me alone!"

There was silence now. Lowering my hands, I turned to glare at the computer. It was like the world had faded away, leaving me and the computer alone in a black void only lit up by it's sickly light. "Leave me alone. Never talk to me again." I said slowly.

"I can't do that."

_Oh! I think... LOOP-HOLE! AWESOME!_

I smirked. "If you really want to work with me, you'd have to show your face. Why're you still hiding behind that calligraphy and the cheap synthetic voice? Riddle me that, _genius_!" I sneered.

Silence, probably shocked or stunned at my blunt truth.

"It goes as far just to say that you don't _really_ want to have me help you, you're just trying to torment me! Well, I'm not gonna be a toy for you to bat at like some twisted game of Cat and Mouse!" I said cheekily. I made a face, spinning on my heel and sitting down at the same time.

Now the guards were protesting along with L, but I wasn't listening. I'd won, as far as I was concerned. I knew how he'd used people as a shield before. I wasn't about to become the same. I wasn't going to be like the woman who took Beyond away. I was stronger than her, and I wasn't about to cave in to this bastard, no matter how much he pleaded, threatened, begged or tormented me!

I closed my eyes, trying to sum something up that would block him out entirely.

_His voice... Can you remember his voice? Or his touch? Maybe his smile?_

_His voice..._

_... Sort of thick. He talked almost in a daze, in a way._

_His touch..._

_... Soft, gentle, like he was afraid of hurting anything he touched._

_His smile..._

_..._

I smiled myself, smiling back at the image of my older brother in my head.

_I love you, BB... You know that?_

L was breaking through. Shit, how was he doing that?

I bowed my head, scrunching my eyes closed in frustration.

All this nonsense was just giving me a headache.

I threw my arms up in frustration. "Like we're supposed to hug and make up! You took my brother from me, drove him crazy, and then killed him! I despise your guts and everything about you! It is virtually impossible for us to ever work together, even if the whole fuckin' universe depended on it! It's more likely for me to gouge my eyes out with a rabbit's foot than even think of working with you!" I cried, putting my hands on my head and scratching it in frustration.

"Is it really that hard?"

I slowly turning my head so I could glare from the corner of my eye. "Even after I point out that I'd only be a puppet for you like that Misora woman you don't do anything to change it. I'm not some doll you dress up and push around, nor a puppet whose strings you can yank to make me dance. I refuse to dance to a stranger's tunes, or wear the clothes of someone I don't know."

The silence now was thick, thoughtful.

"I see."

That being said, the calligraphic character vanished.

_This doesn't feel like a victory..._

I growled.


	4. Chapter 2: Songs of Sorrow

I stretched languidly. "Mew?" I said squeakily, earning a laugh from Godson.

"You are like a cat. Dainty and small in your waking moments, but when you sleep you sprawl all over*!" he chuckled.

I snickered, sticking my tongue out and winking. "So, what game did Wilcox go to get? Nothing classy like cheese I hope!"

"Chess."

"Yes. Cheese." I grinned.

"You're impossible."

"That's because I'm sane!" I smiled cheekily.

"Sometimes I wonder..." he sighed, shaking his head.

"So? What game?"

"I think he was actually going to make arrangements for someone to come visit a relative here... Not sure."

I frowned.

_That idiot detective isn't weaseling his way in, is he?_

I sighed. It couldn't be. We weren't related. Period. No matter how much my brother could look like him, couldn't be.

Wilcox came in. He was holding a bag.

"Ooh, what's that?" I asked.

"Marbles." he smiled.

"I already win!" I crowed, getting up on all fours and scrabbling over to the bars.

"Not so fast, I play this all the time with my kids."

"Doesn't matter. BB and I played it every day. Literally." I smirked.

But it came out fifteen-fifteen.

"Our first tie! Excellent!" Godson sighed, marking it down on the official win-board-thing we hung up near my cell.

"Says the guy who never plays!" Wilcox and I said in unison.

_Scared._

Fear. There was fear very close by. Someone just behind the door was scared. Terrified, even.

"After?"

"There's someone here. They're behind the door." I pointed.

Wilcox was nervous, Godson was confused. "Oh, shit no... You didn't arrange with him t' come here and see me?!" I accused.

"No... Not him..." Wilcox muttered. "That's... an associate... Someone currently working with him."

I moved back into the shadowy corner of my cell. "You're a _great_ friend Wilcox, ya know that?" I drawled, covering my face with my arms as I leaned back against the wall.

"Don't be like that!"

"I will be like this! I refuse to have myself be violated by being stared at by detectives and authorities and reporters and other random bitches and bastards!" I snapped.

_This detective was here to observe me. To learn about me, report weaknesses to L. To figure out how to make me work with him, to try and bargain with me._

_I WOULDN'T LET HIM LEARN ABOUT ME!_

I sat, oblivious to the chatter of Wilcox and Godson. I kept my face covered. I wasn't gonna become another puppet. I wasn't gonna give the guy behind the door anything to learn!

I remained motionless, peeping out at the door from between a crack in my arms. The guy stayed there. Probably testing my patience and stubbornness. Well, he was gonna see just how stubborn I could be!

I sighed. My arms were gonna fall asleep...

Wilcox and Godson tried to coax me to play a game or move around, to sing even, but I refused to move. I wasn't going to give L information about the one he wanted to be his little puppet. I'm stubborn, strong, and can be a bit of a jack-ass. I was proving it to this guy.

I remained that way for a while. Eventually Wilcox gave up with the act, and he and Godson left. I now listened intently to the whispered conversation.

"Is she always like that?"

"No... She's actually quite fun to be around, and likes to play games. But she can be stubborn, and prone to tantrums."

_Ouch... nice one, Godson..._

"She's touchy about her brother and L. She constantly winds up pointing things out that ordinary people wouldn't, so I think that's part of why she was locked up. She scared people with her amazing eye-sight, and then when she ran a tad rampant when her brother died... But she's a sweet girl, and I look forward to work because of her. She's a bit like my daughter."

_Thank you, Wilcox!_

"Really? Well, I can see why L'd like to work with her... She's persistent, sharp, and smart."

_Thanks for the compliment... NOT!_

"She's also stubborn and sore." Godson threw in.

"Sore?! How is she sore?" Wilcox demanded.

"If you even mention L, she can start a silent-treatment that may last a day! You talk trash or even a slightly nasty compliment about Beyond Birthday, you get the same!"

"That's not being sore!"

_Really? Even I call that sore..._

"She's just over-protective and loving! Even though the object of her affection and protection has gone, she persists in protecting and loving him!"

_Aw... That's really sweet, Wilcox!_

I groaned, tired of just listening to their whispers. "Can you quit talking about me? I can hear you!" I said loudly.

"S-sorry...!" my guards called.

I flopped over on my stomach, my arms all pins and needles from holding them over my face for so long. I glared at the door. The guy was watching me, a little scared, a little curious, and part of him... Was he _WANTING_ to like me?! I lifted a finger and pointed at the door. "You... You can give it up any time now, pal." I said clearly, my voice cutting like a knife.

Everything was silent and still for a moment.

"S-sorry... but I was told not to..."

Typical... L of course wouldn't want me to know the faces of his people. How did I see that coming?

"Well, you can give him a message. Tell him I'm not giving up anytime soon, and that if he really wants me to work for him, he should at least let me hear his real voice. The synthetic one isn't fooling anyone."

_**Meanwhile...**_

"Ouch, that stings..."

"Shut up." he muttered. It did sting a bit. After was stubborn, refusing to cave in. Since they'd planted taps and a camera though...

He pushed a button.

It was nighttime over there. After was sitting in the center of her cell, rocking slowly back and forth.

_What was she doing...?_

"Listen..." Light hushed.

_"Dancing bears... Painted wings... Things I almost remember... And a song someone sings, once upon a December... Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memory!... Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully across my memory! Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember, things my heart used to know, things it yearns to remember... And a song someone sings... Once upon a December~..."_

Singing. She was singing to herself.

_"Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? All this weeping in the air, who can tell where it will fall? Through floating forests in the air, 'cross the rolling open sea? Blow a kiss, I run through air, leave the past, find nowhere, floating forests in the air, clowns all around you! Clowns that only let you know where you let your senses go, clowns all around you, it's a cross I need to bear! All this black and cruel despair, this is an emergency! Don't you hide your eyes from me, open them and see me now...! Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? Floating forests in the air, clowns all around you!... Can you see me now...? Floating floating floating floating floating floating floating floating... See me here, in the air, not holding onto anywhere, but holding on, so beware, I have secrets I won't share! See me here, pushing you, if I then deny I do, contemplate or wish away, if I ask you not to stay! Clowns that only let you know where you let your senses go, clowns all around you, it's a cross I need to bear! All this black and cruel despair, this is an emergency! Don't you hide your eyes from me, open them and see me now...! Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...?... Can you see me now...? Clowns all around you... Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...? Can you see me now...?"_

Did she know about the camera and taps and was trying to relay a hidden message?

No... Looking over the information he'd gotten from the guards, After frequently sang to herself. She often sang sadder songs, as if mourning...

_Mourning for Beyond Birthday?_

She was starting a third song now.

_"The unneeded meaning from start to end to the disappearance of this soul! Who remembers characters? From the window of madness, goodbye! H-h-hello myself, h-h-hello myself, haven't we met before? Go-o-oodbye yourself, go-o-oodbye yourself, so, want to talk? Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Unable to run away! Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Like the corruption is continuing...! The discovered conclusion disappearing, outlines fading to black! In the darkness there's no such thing as light! From inside of madness, goodbye!__ H-h-hello myself, h-h-hello myself,__ haven't we met before? Go-o-oodbye yourself, go-o-oodbye yourself, so, want to talk? Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Unable to run away! Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Like the corruption is continuing...!... Hey, haven't we met somewhere in the past? Hey, you're special to me, I want to talk to you. Hey, what time is it? What's today? I don't know. Hey, it would be great if we completely forgot!__ Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! Dark? Light? Insanity! Insanity!... Sanity~... Can't see the dark already... Purity~... The days are longer... Sanity~... But that must also sink... Sanity~... What is that? Insanity!__ Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Like the corruption is continuing! Insanity! Like floating on air! Psychopathy! A care-free life! Insanity! An illusion that can't end! Captivity! Unable to run away! Insanity! Psychopathy! Insanity! Captivity!"_

_________What was_ this...?

From something sad and mourning to something almost angry and ready to fight... After seemed to be indecisive about what mood she was in at points... But yet, all of the songs she'd sung were somehow associated with sadness...

Hmm...

**_* From a poem my father showed me- I think it describes felines perfectly!_**

**__I don't own any of the songs After sang. I simply like them and sing them myself. I thought it'd be interesting to make her sing.**


End file.
